Be Mindful, Stay Healthy, and Always Be Yourself!

Here's a throwback post that is certainly appropriate for this October weekend. This smoothie matches the season and will be a great way to start the lovely fall day.
Thanks to Smoothie Queen Amy for this great recipe
I can't wait Read more

Gluten-Free Zucchini Bread
So I have been struggling with gluten-free baking because honestly -- I've never been good at baking!! Then when I try to modify recipes using flours I'm not familiar with, it just makes a perfect storm of Read more

If you are like me -- you are just starting to realize why it is important to add supplements to your diet. Even if we are eating a clean, healthy and unprocessed diet; the mineral content of the soil Read more

Do you remember watching Wild Kingdom as a kid? Did you happen to notice that the animals attacking their prey would immediately eat the organ meats. I never really thought about why until I listened to Morley Robbins explain the Read more

Blackberry Balsamic Vinaigrette
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp local honey
1/3 cup blackberries
Process all the ingredients together in a blender and then season with ground pepper and sea salt
The beauty of this recipe Read more

This stuff is a must -- If you read labels these days you will be hard pressed to find a mayonnaise or salad dressing that doesn't contain some type of vegetable oil. Even the commercial mayos that advertise to Read more

Sherry has a great story. She has been diabetic for years and she has made some massive changes!
"I have been on a lifestyle change. It has been a year following a ketogenic food plan. When I started this journey Read more

Tara's Story
When I turned 30 years old I weighed in at 348lbs; clothes were getting harder to find and more expensive, and my life was getting difficult to manage. When going out to eat we had to have a Read more

Whole Food

I love some of Dee’s older posts that are so insightful on how we are brain washed into thinking we need to eat so much. It is a complete attack on all of our senses—

Dee writes:

Our wonderful country has transformed into one in which many fortunate citizens are overindulged, overstocked and overfed. I see so many kids who have such an air of entitlement. Many of us use money we don’t have to buy things we don’t need. There is this great sense of getting more, needing more, wanting more. Restaurants and fast food chains jump right into the game of giving us what we want. When you look at a commercial for, lets say, a pancake house you can see exactly what I mean. First, they give you the price of something-99 and then you see the combo – stack of pancakes, two kinds of meat, two eggs and a side of home fries. All of this is for one person. This is such a common assortment of food and it is set up to please every part of the palette, that we really don’t stop to realize that the Grand Slam could easily satisfy the hunger of three or four adults. I know that when I am presented with the option of such a meal, I act before I think…I don’t want to do without the potatoes, and the savory, salty, crispy bacon tastes so great; it all goes really well with scrambled eggs and then there is the warm, fluffy texture of melt-in-your-mouth pancakes – a wonderful symphony of food. The truth is, I’ve had MANY weekday breakfasts that consisted of one hard-boiled egg. And that was a sufficient bit of food to hold me over from morning until lunch. But when we have all of this bundled into one fine presentation there are a couple of things that food marketers use to sabotage our senses. First, there is the “value” catch. For $2, I can order one egg but for another $1.50 I can make it a sandwich with cheese and bacon and for a total of $5 bucks, it comes with tater-tots and a small OJ. So I might have only wanted or needed one egg, but I choose the whole lot. Second, there’s the waste factor. Now that I’ve ordered all of this food, at a bargain price, I need to eat it all as to not waste it. I may have realized I’m full after barely starting to consume the meal, but there are only two alternatives once it’s in front of me – throw perfectly good food into the garbage or eat it.

Now back to the title of my blog, “diminishing returns.” Wouldn’t you say that the very first bite of a piece of chocolate cake is the best bite? The second one is pretty good, and maybe the third. By three bites your mouth is very happy and has had a good chance to fully experience the great flavor. The more you eat, the less fabulous the taste. While the flavor is still good, these subsequent bites from number three to clean plate are really somewhat mechanical, you just keep going and going until the food is gone without the ability to savor the dish as you did with bites one through three. If you order a meal at most restaurants, get a carry out container right up front to box half for another meal. You’ll be amazed to see how many double portion meals you get and how full you feel after only eating half.

I have been recommending “The Hormone Cure” book by Dr. Sara Gottfried with some amazing patient results! Jessica (our guest author) graciously offered to write a post explaining the science correlating hormone balance and weight loss. Be sure to visit her site as well! We have been talking about limiting grains in the diet for prevention of blood sugar issues so keep that in mind as well. EAT YOUR VEGGIES!

Jessica writes:

Can Diet Changes Regulate Your Hormones To Lose Weight?

Modern research suggests that it is possible to modify your daily diet to bring about changes in the ways your body hormones are functioning. Dietary changes will influence hormone levels and help you lose weight. So, weight loss is not only about shedding calories or having a strong willpower; it has quite a lot to do with the way your hormones behave. Although it sounds strange, what you eat can actually regulate your hormonal functions.

Hormonal imbalance is responsible for different forms of ailments, ranging from cancers to amnesia. Studies show that nearly 40 chemicals actually work to influence one’s appetite. When your hormones are not in control, your weight loss efforts can suffer a setback even if you are following a healthy well-balanced diet. Since hormones are produced when the body has enough cholesterol and good fats, it is important to have these foods as part of your everyday diet in order to release important hormones.

How diet changes can affect hormone functions:

Control omega-6 intake: Cortisol hormone leads to heightened appetite particularly for comfort foods that are sugar-rich and fattening. If you can avoid the omega-6 polyunsaturated fats you can protect yourself from inflammation. These fats are unstable and get oxidized easily, causing mutation and inflammation of arteries. Instead, you should focus on including monounsaturated fats and saturated fats because these benefit health. So, vegetable oils, peanut oil, margarine etc are best avoided; it is wiser to opt for real butter, coconut oil and olive oil.

Limit caffeine consumption: Excess caffeine can adversely affect the endocrine system especially when you are already feeling the effects of other hormone stressors. You can switch to drinking herbal teas.

Limit toxins: Toxins are present in household chemicals and plastics, and pills for birth control likewise can play havoc with your hormones. When you already have hormonal imbalance or trying to get pregnant, you need to stay away from such toxins. You should avoid storing foods in plastic containers and choose organic produce and organic meats.

Coconut oil: Coconut oil can work wonders for your hormones by providing the building blocks for their production. Therefore, it helps in weight loss, reduces inflammation and has anti-bacterial properties.

Increase fiber intake: When you eat more fibers like raw fruits and vegetables and whole grains, you can not only lose weight but improve the release of old estrogen from your body. This in turn leads to an improved overall hormonal balance.

Increased meat and carb intake: When you include more carbs and meat in your daily diet, you get more energy for hormone production. For instance, seafood that is rich in omega-3 fatty acids or low-fat meats is an excellent source of fiber which can contribute to weight loss.

Eat more vegetables: You can include fibers and vegetables in the diet to control leptin resistance. Veggies contain important vitamins and antioxidants that reduce inflammation which interferes with leptin secretion. This in turn improves the body’s fat-burning power and helps to reduce your cravings.

Opt for meal delivery services: You can consider joining reputed weight loss meal delivery services that deliver portion controlled meals. As they prepare meals especially to lose weight, the above said factors would be well imbibed in their diet plans. Moreover you need not bother about counting calories or cooking healthy meals each day when you join such programs. For instance, Nutrisystem is a popular weight loss meal delivery service which delivers nutritionally balanced and portion controlled meals to their dieters. The meals are usually low glycemic, low-fat, low carb, low sodium and are devoid of trans and saturated fats. So, considering the diet services is one of the wisest options to lose weight.

These are some easy dietary changes which can help in the release of important hormones that allow you to maintain an optimal weight. Weight loss is guaranteed to happen when your hormones are working optimally and your diet is well-balanced.

Watch this trailer, It really defines what is causing disease in our country. If you get inspired to start juicing, there is a great website that gives you some of the basics on buying a juicer and how to start combining and flavoring fruits and vegetables. You can purchase your own copy of Joe Cross’s documentary HERE

I am reposting this oldie but goodie with all of the questions I have gotten this last week on calcium supplements and some of the new information that has been released regarding their use. I really feel like we should be getting our calcium from food. Primarily=plant based food considering some of the dangers of milk and soy in today’s food supply. Here are some of the best plant based sources of calcium.

Enjoy the best way to get your calcium–through your food. Yes friends, Citracal with D is a good supplement but there really isn’t any reason why we need to take an additional manufactured supplement when there are so many great foods that contain plenty of calcium. Edamame, oranges, beans, and kale all have great amounts of calcium and you get the benefit of all the other nutrients and antioxidants! Remember those free radical cancer fighters? Eat your veggies people! Eat your veggies!

1. Bake sweet potato. Peel, place in large mixing bowl.
2. Add drained beans to mixing bowl. Mash beans and potato together.
3. Mash in seasoning, flour and any additional seasoning. Your mixture will be quite soft and moist. But you should be able to form a patty. Add more flour or a scoop of breadcrumbs – or dry rice to thicken the mixture if needed.
4. Heat 1 Tbsp safflower oil in a pan over high heat.
5. Form a patty from mixture and coat in Panko crumbs. Thick coating. Then drop the patty in the pan. Repeat until the pan is filled. Cook until browned on both sides. You could also bake. If baking, use less Panko.
6. Transfer cooked patties to paper towel. Cool for a few minutes.
7. Serve on toasted bun with lotsa toppings

Here’s another great recipe for this week! I want to remind everyone that I am posting the smoothie posse recipes and experiences from last week because I leave for a nutrition conference this week so I can’t participate. The one major note that I will tell you before starting the fest is to not forget to drink water!!! By day #2, I was cranky, tired, and really hungry! Also, (spoiler alert) that the beet juice recipe from day #2 will make you pee red!

I just listened to a great podcast on Meaningful Eating—-Thanks to Underground Wellness for such a great show on how to form a good relationship with food with Christa Orecchio. Here are some of the key points that I took away from their podcast–and be sure to visit her site at http://thewholejourney.com .

#1 Make the connection with what you are eating while you are doing it–try not to multitask for one meal a day. Spend some time really thinking about what you are eating

#2 Pace yourself with the slowest eater at the table

#3 Take your food on a date–the grass is always greener where you water it-so give your food some love and you will have a much less toxic relationship with it.

#4 Create new good rituals with your food–don’t just do it mindlessly

#5 Make eating an act all by itself

#6 Don’t eat when you are upset

#7 Check in and ask yourself if you are hungry—take a deep breath before eating

#8 Eat slower so you will know when you are 80% full–never eat past this

Be sure to visit http://www.undergroundwellness.com to get more great info and podcast from the nation’s leading nutritionists!

How about a pre holiday challenge–Screw waiting for the new year to make resolutions–Let’s hit the new year on the ground running. This is why our wellness patients decided to start the Biggest Loser contest on November 1st. They wanted to attack those holiday parties feeling healthy and fit. Not only are we all going to look and feel better for those parties, we aren’t going to feel guilty if we fall off the wagon and overindulged because we are already doing the work! Congrats to most wellness participants whom have already lost 2-3 pounds before we even hit the month of December! Besides, the only reason we are even using the scales is to determine a grand prize winner. Everyone comes out a winner despite how much they lose because this isn’t about pounds. This is about nourishing our minds, bodies, and souls with REAL FOOD! I am going to be telling you this week about a program we are excited to start. A few of us are testing the waters this week so we can determine what kind of resources and information will be most helpful to you! Stay tuned for more information and SPOILER alert: It may involve smoothies!

I can’t wait for this! I think I have a girl crush on Kris Carr because of her fabulous fun-loving attitude and charisma–watch the trailer to her new book which is available to order at her website http://www.kriscarr.com

Hipocracy you may say. But , I have an unhealthy relationship with mexican food. I can tell you exactly when it dates back to . In medical school, my roommate and I were chronically stressed and frankly probably clinically depressed because we literally lived and breathed medicine. We had no time for socializing were buried in books almost every waking hour we weren’t in class. Grabbing takeout mexican food and watching Jerry Springer episodes(yes we felt validated and normal seeing their dysfunction lives) on the weekend was a special treat to anticipate. So I have formed a comforting connection with eating mexican to make me feel good. It’s unhealthy but not necessarily a toxic coping mechanism. So I choose never to break that strategy for fear that the deprivation of my lifelong habit would allow me to pick up an even more toxic habit (ie doing drugs or something). Like relationships between people, the relationships we have with food can be healthy, unhealthy, or downright destructive. Many of my patients often exhibit signs of the latter, as many relate to food as medication, a best friend, or an escape from reality. Without understanding these relationships, making long-term dietary changes can be impossible. I choose the lesser of the evils and try to maintain insight into why I am making that choice. I am choosing to eat poorly tonight but I’m not going to make that choice again for a while. This is my one wild night then back to the books and the goal at hand! No different then medical school–you gotta stay on course for the goal at the end. Unfortunately, the health goal doesn’t end with a diploma or a degree–it’s a lifelong journey in vitality.

Here is a nice interview excerpt by Christa Orecchio, a clinical nutritionist that works on breaking programming lying at the root of unhealthy eating habits.

You can find more Real Food information on Sean Croxton’s site http://www.undergroundwellness.com